“War” is a little strong, given what’s at stake in real wars. And yet the show is called "Food Wars." And its subtitle this week is "New Orleans Po-boy War."

The Times-Picayune ArchiveA shrimp po-boy from Domilise's.

What’s happening Wednesday night (September 15) at 9 on the Travel Channel is, after all, just a po-boy taste-off.

Granted, two of the city’s most beloved po-boy purveyors — Parkway Bakery & Tavern and Domilise’s — are the contestants, so partisans of each will have a rooting interest in the outcome.

And an expert opinion to share, when asked.At least that was the experience of “Food Wars” host Camille Ford when she was in town to shoot the episode.

“Almost everyone — and it didn’t matter, business suits or construction boots — had such a specific way of describing their favorites,” she said. “Like, when you first taste a fried oyster, what the first taste should be, exactly how crispy. It was mind-blowing to me, the quality of, and the consistency of, people’s ability to speak about this food. It really is a passion.

“These New Orleans characters, they know exactly what they’re talking about every time.”

Earlier episodes of the series have staged dine-offs between chicken-wing specialists in Buffalo, N.Y., Los Angeles food trucks, New York delis, Italian beef sandwich shops in Chicago and Kansas City rib joints.

“There’s no shortage of people who think they’re the best,” Ford said. “Everybody believes that if they’re going to be in the business and they’re going to work their tail into the ground, they believe they’re the best. It’s extremely fun to watch these friendly and sometimes unfriendly and sometimes family feuds take place, and talk to people about what makes (their restaurant) the best.

“The whole concept of the show is to appreciate and support and promote healthy competition. It’s not about tearing restaurants down and tearing down communities. It’s about saying, ‘Hey, guess what? Here are two places that do what they do extremely well. Let’s see who’s winning this year.’ ”

In the match pitting Parkway against Domilise’s in a fried-shrimp po-boy duel, she added, there was immense mutual regard.

“Definitely, Parkway feels ultimate respect and reverence for what Domilise’s has done and how hard they’ve worked and what they mean iconically to New Orleans,” she said.

At the same time, the Parkway team is extremely proud of the shop’s comeback from post-Katrina levee-flop floodwater.

“Parkway has had to pull themselves up by their bootstraps over and over again,” she said. “You could feel the way Parkway wanted to prove how hard they’ve worked.”

Anyway, it’s all in fun no matter what the show’s title and subtitle say. And the outcome, whatever it is, will have been debated just as hotly had it gone the other way.

The episode was shot awhile ago, way back in Abita Strawberry Lager season. (Ford became a fan. “I was seriously trying to figure out how to bring a keg of that home,” she said.) And well before President Barack Obama made a beeline with his family from Air Force One to Parkway’s order line during his recent visit.

It also came well before the Food Network announced a seemingly identical show titled “Food Feuds” — hosted by Iron Chef Michael Symon, it premieres Oct. 14 — that pits po-boys from Parkway against Parasol’s Restaurant and Bar in an episode scheduled to air Nov. 25.

Ford said she fell in love with more than a favorite local seasonal brew while she was in town.

“I spent the weekend there,” she said. “My husband flew down, and we hung out. I said, ‘Dude, you’ve got to get down here. We’ve got so much to eat and so little time.’ ”

In the time they had, the couple dined their way through the French Quarter, up to Lil’ Dizzy’s and back down to fine dining houses in the Warehouse District.

“It’s like Paris’ little, bubbly, happy sister,” she said. “That’s what New Orleans is like. I love it.”